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Not much of Katarina's past is known, only that she was an orphan from the town of Knorda, where she was treated like an animal, beaten just for fun, and that her real name is Reese. Eventually, she was found and taken in by Eremiya, who raised her to be an assassin. She was partnered with her friend Clarisse and Legion when going on missions. Reese always tried to act as an older sister towards Clarisse, though she was usually ordered around by her.

After the War of Shadows, Reese and her companions were assigned to wipe out the remnants of the Soothsires and save the townspeople that were captured. While Clarisse showed no interest in helping the others, Reese desired to help the people and stop their suffering. During their mission, they encountered Athena, who wished to save the children from the Soothsires, and worked together, wiping out the remains of the once dangerous bandits.

Upon completing their mission, Reese and Clarisse saw a painting that seemed to be familiar to Clarisse, and thus she told Reese to go on ahead. As Reese saved the children, she encountered a girl that thanked her, who said that her name was Katarina, a name that Reese said was hers as well. As the children escaped, Reese met up with Clarisse again, who warned Reese not to tell anyone about what happened with her.

Before the War of Heroes began, Reese had been assigned a mission: to assassinate Prince Marth. To do this, Reese had to pose undercover as Katarina and join the Altean Knights, so that she could drug all the guards inside the castle, while simultaneously act as a guide for her accomplices.

She encountered a fresh recruit when beginning her mission, Kris. Claiming that she cannot fight and merely desired to be a tactician, Katarina had Kris partner with her so they could get through their training. Katarina also recommended to Luke and Roderick to have Kris serve as their commander for the 7th Platoon, even hastily accepting Luke's challenge against Kris in their place.

When they were on march duty and got lost, they tried to find their way back to the castle. However, Katarina pointed them towards a village that was under attack by bandits. They worked together, along with the mage Merric that had arrived soon enough, and killed all the bandits, though Kris noted to themselves that one of the bandits, a masked person, was not among them. They might or might not have told Katarina this depending on the player's choices, though the matter is waved off in the end. Katarina and Kris were then summoned by Prince Marth himself, who praised them for helping save the lives of many people by subjugating the bandits, though Katarina thought they would be reprimanded for disobeying orders. Prince Marth found their progress to be very well and wants to appoint them as Royal Guards, though does not want their answer immediately and advises them to think about it.

Later on, as they prepared for their next test, Luke was contemplating a hair change to attract girls as no girls wished to date him, though Katarina remarked the other girls saw Luke as small-fry, and that their other comrades were preferred, with Ryan being a "cutie", Roderick being "Ohmigosh, so cool!", and some even lusting after Kris (regardless of gender). She also points out that Luke needed to work on his attitude more than anything, before noting that Jagen wanted them all to gather for their next training.

As their next training began, it was noted by Jagen that it had been 3 months since their training began and only 20 recruits have made it through, shocking Katarina. Before their training began, Katarina spoke with Kris and mentioned using some special connections of hers to acquire stronger weapons and also getting Cecil, a recruit from the 9th Platoon that had her comrades desert her, to join them.

After completing the training, Katarina spoke to Kris and expressed how she desired to be a part of Marth's Royal Guard, and believed that together with Kris, they would be an unstoppable force, and how imagining a future like that made her happy, and asked if Kris felt that way, to which Katarina can express joy that Kris shares her desire, or disappointment when Kris admits they had not thought much on it at the moment.

As their final test approached, Kris later encountered Katarina crying and believed that she had been bullied by someone, though Katarina insisted that that was not it, and said that she would tell them later after they finished their test. Passing their final test, Katarina noted how happy everyone was and how she was happy as well. That night, Katarina and Kris spoke together, as neither could sleep due to having a lot on their mind. Katarina spoke a bit about her past and noted that Kris and her were alike in that they were doing what they did for the sake of another, and noted that it would not be long now, before deciding that they should sleep.

Katarina left, but came back quickly and gave Kris a headband from Cecil, who wanted Kris to try it as it would make them be more "psyched". Katarina shows excitement if Kris accepts to try the headband, and disappointment if they do not.

The next day, Katarina notes how long its been since they met and spoke in nostalgia as she vowed to never forget the memories they shared, something that Kris noted to be odd. As they are knighted by Marth, a soldier arrives to inform them that enemies are attacking the castle, the numbers being unknown. While Jagen goes to investigate and neutralize the threat, the newly appointed knights remain behind. While Luke wishes to go help and Roderick assures that there are plenty of guards inside the castle, Katarina finally removes her cover and says that all the guards had been drugged, and while there was no danger to their lives, the drugs would prevent the guards from moving for a few days.

Horrified at what they were hearing, Katarina soon tells them that her name was not Katarina, but Reese, and she was sent to assassinate Marth. She then went to open the doors to allow her accomplices to enter the room, where Legion also showed up to watch Reese's mission, revealing that the attack on the village back then was nothing but a ploy to win Marth's trust. As Katarina leads her accomplices to attack Marth's group, she is stopped by her former comrades from the 7th Platoon and faces Kris in combat, revealing that everything was a lie and she had deceived them, before telling them to forgive her. Despite the plan and the help she received, Reese is defeated and forced to retreat with Legion.

Reese's betrayal had left a deep wound to her comrades, specifically Kris and Cecil, who vowed to bring her back one day, believing that the Katarina they knew was still there.

Reese would not resurface for some time until after the War of Heroes began, where Katarina and Clarisse are tasked with hunting down and killing all of Marth's former comrades from the War of Shadows, the first target being a cornered Wrys. However, they are discovered by Marth and the Altean army, whom Reese predicted would arrive as she knew that they would never abandon a comrade.

As Reese asked if Clarisse was up to the task, Clarisse waved her off, as she thought of the Altean army as weak trash. This made Reese warn her to not underestimate them, or she will get herself killed. She spoke of how she served as Kris's tactician, but hardly acted as one, not giving the advice a tactician should give, and even without her, Kris and their comrades were strong. Clarisse was flabbergasted at how Reese spoke of them, thinking that Reese had grown attached to her former comrades and warned Reese to stay out of her way, making Reese leave.

When Wrys is saved and Clarisse's mission a failure, Reese reminded her that she had given Clarisse a fair warning about the Altean army being strong, which annoyed Clarisse and made her question if Reese was on the Altean's side and thinking of betraying Eremiya, though Reese refutes this, and knows that for Eremiya's sake, she must defeat Kris.

Later on during the war, Katarina went to Eremiya and reported that the original Legion was killed by the Altean army when Legion attempted to kill Horace. Noting that with Legion now dead, the Altean army has become too strong and that they should consider refraining from pursuing them any further, but Eremiya refuses to, as it was an order from Gharnef. Despite Reese insisting that they should pull back, Clarisse mocks her for being afraid and insists that she will take care of the Altean army. Moving on from that, Reese questions what to do with the remaining Legion clones, and to her horror, Eremiya orders the rest to be killed, as they are now useless now that the original Legion was dead.

Trying in a vain attempt to sway Eremiya from killing the clones, Clarisse once more mocks her, calling her useless and offering to do it in her stead, to which Eremiya agrees and praises Clarisse for being a good girl, mocking Reese along the way as a failure.

As Clarisse later went to ambush Marth, she was later on defeated and left on the verge of death. Reese had found her and quickly brought her to the hideout, much to Clarisse's shock. When Clarisse questioned this, Reese simply said that Clarisse was her little sister, even though they were both orphans. Reese further stated that she did not mind if Clarisse hated her, because the bond that she shared with Clarisse was precious to her and if she lost it, she would be all alone again. As she went to Eremiya to request to aid Clarisse's injuries, Reese is instead ordered to abandon Clarisse for failing her mission. Horrified and unable to help her little sister as Clarisse accepts her death, Reese was asked by the dying Clarisse to stay by her side, and finally called her sister with her dying breath.

Heartbroken at losing her beloved sister, Reese is mocked by Eremiya, who said that Reese was never wanted in the world, and her life was trash, meant only to be used for Eremiya's sake. She was then ordered to kill the Altean army and her former friends, the only remaining people that Reese cared about, much to Katarina's despair.

Following her orders like the puppet she was lead to believe, she once again faced Marth and Kris with the intention of fulfilling her orders. Despite Marth and Kris declaring that they wished not to fight, Reese was set on her task. As she attacked Kris, she fondly recalled her time in the recruit training, remembering saving the villagers and being with Kris. Despite these memories, she continues to push them away.

Katarina's Tears.

Refusing to attack her, Kris finally gets Reese to stop her attacks and listen. Kris reminds her of their days in training, where she stated that the 7th Platoon was an unstoppable team. Reese insists that they were all lies and that she did not care for any of them. Kris points out that she was crying, showing that her heart desired to fight with Kris and Marth, despite her words and actions. Reese feels that she is beyond salvation as her sins were too heavy, but Kris promises to help her atone. Unable to contain her emotions, she conceded that Kris was right and stands before Marth at the end of the battle.

Reese asks for her own execution, but Marth denies her request, telling her that dying would simply be running from her sins. When Reese asks Marth how to atone for her actions, he declines an answer. Marth tells her to live on and figure out her own method of atonement as her punishment. Reese decides to go by Katarina once more, as it is the only name she ever had when she felt true happiness.

After Hardin's defeat, Marth and Kris received word on Eremiya's whereabouts. Eavesdropping on the conversation, Katarina volunteers to show them a secret passage that leads them directly to Eremiya. Despite stating that she does not believe that it will fully absolve her sins, she has resolved her self to help in this mission to prevent other orphans from suffering the same fate as she has.

Leading them down a dark secret passage, she tells Kris and Marth how she was raised in the darkness to be Eremiya's puppet like the others. However, she states that she no longer is bound by those feelings and simply wishes to be useful to Kris. Eremiya is aware of the infiltration and sends her assassins to dispose of them. Eventually, the army approaches Eremiya and Katarina can face her. Katarina is saddened that she has to face her, but her resolve to help Kris gives her the strength to stand her ground. Amused that Katarina has found free will, Eremiya engages her with the intention of completely breaking her once more into the puppet she was supposed to be. In the end, Katarina's resolve and the might of Marth's army finally ends her madness.

With the revival and eventual slaying of Medeus, peace is restored to the world. Katarina would continue to tirelessly serve as a Knight of Altea for Marth to continue atone for her past sins.

Unlike her fellow assassins, Katarina seems to be a kind and caring person, even when she was serving as an assassin for Eremiya, since her very reason to keep serving Eremiya is not simply due to obedience, but out of gratitude for saving her from her life as an orphan. Even after betraying Eremiya in the end, having to confront her in battle was incredibly hard for Katarina, as she admitted that she would much rather die. Truly, instead of showing bloodlust like Legion, or arrogance like Clarisse and Eremiya, she seems to instead possess a desire to help others, as when they were tasked to wipe out the remnants of the Soothsires, she did it because it would save the captives and not cause anymore harm to befall the innocent rather than duty.

Katarina is particularly caring for her comrades, as they are all children that she grew up with, being especially caring towards Clarisse, calling herself Clarisse's big sister, even though she mistreats her often. Such thoughtfulness is what leads her to be horrified at the thought of having to kill Legion's clones, despite knowing that they were little more than corpses since the original was killed, and also to despair upon being forced to let Clarisse die and only be able to stay with her as she perished in her arms.

Though a professional raised from childhood to kill, she seems to undermine her own plans and courses of actions, presumably out of her lack of confidence in herself and little to no self esteem, often displaying nervousness, all while coming to care for her targets. This is best exemplified during her time spent undercover in Altea, as her interactions with the platoon had a profound effect on her, as she had come to truly care for all of them, especially Kris and Cecil, with she admitting in her conversation with Cecil after her recruitment that her laughter and peace, along with her friendship with Cecil were very real. So strong was this bond, that she ends up crying privately at one point prior to her betrayal upon realizing that soon she would have to soon fight them as enemies, and acting nostalgic during their knighthood ceremony by expressing how she would always cherish her memories with her comrades. This gives off the impression being of an incompetent assassin, though as demonstrated by the determination and emotional strength she develops after being recruited, she is indeed capable in her own right.

Over the course of the story, Katarina develops a guilt complex over her betrayal that reaches its peak when she confronts her former comrades for the final time, seemingly prepared to die in the fight. It is so strong that feeling that it continues despite joining Kris, as she pleads to Marth to execute her for the sins she commited, believing it to be the only way to atone for them, but after being forced to try and learn how to atone by living and thinking on her own, rather than be ordered, she decides to works tirelessly for Marth and help others as much as she can, even long after the war, while also being determined to prove to her platoon friends such as Cecil the resolve of her redemption, even exerting herself by hiding an injury she sustained in a fight out of worry that it would remove her from further battles.

Katarina develops a particularly close bond with Kris. Cecil will also note that Katarina seems rather transfixed on a certain person, implied to be Kris, with this conversation taking place regardless of Kris's gender. This can turn into strongly hinted romantic feelings towards the male Kris by the end of their Support Conversation where she practices confessing her feelings when he is just out of earshot of her. She even expresses that she does not care if he does not reciprocates her feelings, but simply being able to talk to him brings her joy.

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

As a boss, Katarina will not have much of a problem making short work of any unit with low resistance with Elfire, so precaution must be taken when fighting her. However, when joining as a Sage, she has low base stats, notably very low Luck and Resistance. However, should you choose to fight with her, you can take advantage of her growth rates for HP, Skill, Speed and Luck, all of which are impressive for a pre-promoted unit. Her best asset as a Magic User is her high defense, and relatively high growth rate for it, which will make her sturdier than some other choices.

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

As a SpotPass character, Katarina does not stand out from other SpotPass characters. However, Katarina's wide berth of classes will still make her a decent unit like many of the other SpotPass characters. Katarina, like other SpotPass characters, lacks the ability to support with any unit, but this can be minimized if she learns Dual Support+ from the Valkyrie class and Dual Guard+ from the Great Knight class. If chosen, Katarina will need to spend time in many classes to find her maximum potential. Because of that, it is recommended that Katarina goes through the Tactician class and gains the Veteran ability to accelerate the process. If you plan on playing Katarina as a frontline offensive unit, Katarina should consider going through the mercenary line to learn Armsthrift and Sol to keep her health up and preserve weapons. Additionally, it is recommended that she classes into a Dark Flier to learn Galeforce. Katarina's best final class would either be Sage or Sorcerer due to her high magic, but any class could work well with enough grinding. Overall, SpotPass Katarina is initially a diamond in the rough but can become a powerful unit if you spend enough time grinding.

The DLC version of Katarina is one of the best units in the game, as she can utilize all possible Rally skills because she has the male-exclusive Rally Strength skill learned upon recruitment. Katarina is one of only three other units that has every available rally skill alongside female Morgan who inherited Rally Strength, her sister who inherited Rally Strength from their Avatar father, and DLC Palla. She also has the Shadowgift skill, allowing her to utilize Dark magic like Aversa's Night and Nosferatu even when not in the Dark Mage/Sorcerer classes. Overall, DLC Katarina has an interesting niche as both a rally and offensive unit and will do well regardless of what she becomes.

Katarina is a fairly well-balanced Red Mage, boasting a solid offensive spread with a high Res stat. Her only real downside is her abysmal physical bulk that leaves her vulnerable to a plethora of physical units. Originally, her stats made her a prime candidate for running Blade-Tomes, but her new preferred weapon has given her new tools.

Her original tome was Rauðrowl+, which made her strong during the Enemy Phase when positioning her allies adjacent to her to maximize its effects. Her Legendary Weapon Reese's Tome gave her an even stronger Rauðrowl tome with higher base might and the ability to refine it, giving her tome a Speed/Resistance Ploy 2 effect. Thanks to these, Katarina is an excellent debuffing unit especially in tandem with her innate skills and access to seals.

Her high res compliments Glacies for her Special, dealing significant damage if it procs. She is the first non-seasonal unit to have Swift Sparrow, a highly valuable inheritable skill, granting her +4 to her Atk and Spd when initiating combat. She also has Attack Ploy, which reduces the Atk stat of any enemy within all four cardinal directions of her if she has more Res than them.

Katarina's low physical bulk leaves her vulnerable to many Red and Blue units. Common red threats like Ayra, Mia, Elincia, and Sigurd easily take care of her while just about every blue physical unit out in the meta achieves similar results. Any sort of Blue unit with Res bulk can easily wall her like Fallen Hardin, Nowi, Female Corrin, Micaiah, and Female Morgan. Lute is a particularly strong counter as she has high enough Res to ignore Katarina's ploy skills, similarly applying hers to Katarina and having the color advantage.

Katarina has a plethora of options and can run a focused offensive set like her original preferred build or take a more flexible and versatile build thanks to her new Tome.

Prior to her new weapon, Katarina was commonly run with Rauðrblade+. Thus taking the standard build for a Bladetome unit brings out her potential. Ardent Sacrifice brings her to the range for Desperation. She can maintain Swift Sparrow for her Skill A or take Fury for the flat boosts and the damage penalty to bring herself into the Desperation range without an ally. Glimmer is the standard Bladetome special. Finally taking Speed Ploy helps to secure double attacks on as many units as possible.

Her new weapon allows Katarina to become a powerful Ploy unit, especially since she can naturally apply all four types of ploy if she runs Reese's Tome with its effect, her innate Attack Ploy, and equips a Defense Ploy seal. This makes her one of the best debuffing units in the game. Draw Back is a great repositioning skill commonly used on many mage units. Iceberg has a slightly faster cooldown than Glacies and better suited for her since she doubles a fair amount of units. Fury or Swift Sparrow can be used depending on the player's preference. Finally, Desperation gives her guaranteed follow ups.

“ Kris, that's a wonderful name. We're here for the same reason, then. My name is Katarina. I came because I wish to serve Prince Marth. ”—Katarina introducing herself to Kris.

“I... I'd like be a Royal Guard, if you're in with me.. Together, we'd be an unstoppable team... When I imagine a future like that, I feel very happy. ...Um, what about you, Kris? Do you, perhaps, feel the same as I...? ”—Katarina talking to Kris.

“ Kris. I... had a dream. It was short... but it was a very happy dream. Kris, you and I... Both of us became Royal Guards... We saved many people, received many thanks... And then, the two of us... Kris... I... I'm sorry... I'm talking nonsense. There's no going back for me. ...Let us resume our battle, Kris.”— Kris talking to Katarina the first time in Chapter 16x.

“Thank... you... ... Now I... won't have to hurt Kris... anymore... Kris... I'm... glad I could meet you... During those days of training... you showed me a beautiful, happy dream... Hey, Kris... Today's training... is about to begin... Look, there's Prince Marth and the others... Don't... wait for me... ... ...”—Katarina's Death Quote in Chapter 16x.

Katarina is Germanic variant of the name Katherine/Catherine which comes from the Greek name Aikaterine. The etymology is debated: it could derive from the earlier Greek name Hekaterine, which came from hekateros "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess Hecate; it could be related to Greek aikia "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek katharos "pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this. The name was borne by a semi-legendary 4th-century saint and martyr, Saint Catherine, from Alexandria who was tortured on a spiked wheel

Despite the fact that Marth and the others learn that Katarina's true name is Reese, they continue to refer to her as Katarina, as do the text box labels that appear when she speaks. In fact, the only characters that ever refer to her as Reese are her fellow assassins (Clarisse, Legion, and Eremiya).

In a conversation with the Kris, Katarina states the she and Clarisse have the same birthdays. Though none of them know their real birthday, Katarina states that Clarisse "allowed" her to have the same birthday after forcing her to get a gift.

Along with Palla, Katarina is the only Einherjar that can learn all Rally skills in Fire Emblem Awakening.

(†) indicates a Hero that is obtained via Grand Hero Battles (‡) indicates a Hero that is obtained via Tempest Trials (*) indicates a Hero that is currently only available as a Special Hero (¥) indicates a Hero that is only available in Legendary and Mythic Hero Summoning Focuses